No, the zombie apocalypse is not upon us

David Konow, 4th June 2012

It's definitely a compliment to a horror director if audiences feel their movies are realistic, or too real.

You want an audience to think what you're showing on screen could really happen, even though there's always something in the back of your mind that tells you it's not real.

Yet some people, you wonder. Here on TG I read with much amusement the story about a condo complex that was "zombie proofed," and this isn't the first time I've heard of adults who actually believe in zombies. I really hate to be the bearer of bad news here to anyone who believes in zombies, fairies, or Santa Claus, but seriously, none of the above actually exist in the real world.

In fact, an all points bulletin has gone out about this, and the statement came from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, and as The Huffington Post tells us, the Center's statement is trying to tell the public that there is no such thing as a zombie virus, so whatever you've seen in Night of the Living Dead and I Am Legend, no matter how convincing, can't happen in real life.

"CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead ( or one that would present zombie-like symptoms." And of course, The Huffington Post joked, "Still, remember the basics just in case they're horribly, horribly wrong: Go for the brain, run fast, and head for the nearest mall."

Being a student of horror films, there have been a number of fright flicks that tried to convince the public they were based on true events. The Exorcist was allegedly based on a real life case of possession, a big selling point of The Amityville Horror was that it was "based on a true story" as they used to say, and there's people that still believe to this day The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a true story. (It's not.) And of course, who could forget one of the greatest hoaxes of all time when Orson Welles did the radio show of War of the Worlds, and people really believed we were under an alien invasion?

The moral of the story? If you present bullsh*t well enough, some people will indeed believe it, so if you've been stocking up for your basement zombie shelter, save your money, you've got nothing to worry about.